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Today, I am delighted to welcome Jo Raven. A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Jo is best known for her series Inked Brotherhood and Damage Control. She writes edgy New Adult romance with sexy bad boys and strong-willed heroines. She writes about MMA fighters and tattoo artists, dark pasts that bleed into the present, loyalty and raw emotion. Add to that breathtaking suspense, super-hot sex scenes and a happy ending, and you have a Jo Raven original story.

How would you describe yourself as a colour, Jo?

I am a deep blue. That’s how I perceive myself. I am quiet and withdrawn most of the time, happier alone, working on my projects. I can have fun, too, of course, and lighten up, but mostly… yep. Deep, dark and mysterious. That’s me 🙂

Are you a morning person, or a midnight candle burner?

I am definitely NOT a morning person, so I guess I am a night owl… Of sorts. I need lots of sleep. Minimum eight hours per night, but ten hours are ideal. So… I am a night owl if I can sleep late and long hours… if this makes sense, lol. Otherwise I am just a zombie looking for brains.

Ha! Tell me something you would like your readers to know about you.

I love tortured characters – therefore I have taken it upon myself to torture them. I am especially fond of torturing my male characters (because I love them more? I guess), and I am known as a wicked author. However, rest assured that by the end of the book they always get their happy ending. I promise. Also rest assured my wicked mind knows no bounds and I have folders and folders of stories to tell…

Fab! If you could morph into any creature what would it be?

A cat. I love cats. Grew up with them, and they are so mysterious and cuddly and cute… So human-like somehow.

I love cats too. Let’s talk about your writing now. Have you ever thought about writing a different genre?

Fantasy. I just love fantasy and the paranormal. Angels and demons and elves and dragons. I was always a fan, since I was little. I read Tolkien and Goodkind and Eddings, and some of my favorite books and films are fantasy.

What is your favourite part of writing?

The first draft, when the ideas flow and something emerges that you didn’t ever see coming. The excitement of watching a character form and a relationship build, of realizing that the plot is coming together and will work out in the end. That’s what I love.

And your least favourite part?

Editing and proofreading. There is a good feeling in it, too, of course – that of fixing holes and polishing something you’ve created, smoothing out wrinkles and sharp edges, letting the story shine. But there’s no doubt that it’s much less exciting for me that the act of creating the story.

How do you handle writer’s block?

I don’t get writer’s block. Early on I realized that writer’s block basically means “I don’t know what happens next”. So I outline. I do rough outlines, sketchy ones, not detailed. And if I hit a block, I sit back, grab my notebook and start outlining the next chapters and scenes. As soon as I know what the next scenes will be about, I can start writing again.

That’s a good tactic. What are you working on now? Would you like to share anything about it?

Right now I am outlining the next book in my Damage Control series – Book 5: OCEAN. Ocean is a bit of a mystery. Readers so far seem intrigued by him because a) he has blue hair 😉 and b) he won’t say what his secret is, except that his brother has something to do with it. Ocean is a tattoo artist at Damage Control (which is the name of the tattoo shop in the series). Be prepared for angst, drama, hot sex and a happy ending! 🙂

Sounds amazing! Tell us about your most recent release, please!

SHANE (Damage Control #4) has just been released! All my series are composed of stand-alone novels (which can be read in sequence, but also on their own). They evolve around a group of young men, the tattoo shop where they gather and the girls they love.

SHANE is a dark and quiet character, very intense, brooding and sexy. His mom died when he was fifteen and her loss struck him deeply. He got involved in drugs and street fights, then went to prison for something he didn’t do and that was hell.

This is the story of him fighting his demons with the help of a girl who loves him – Cassie – and rising from the ashes. I think it’s a powerful book, if I say so myself. It made me think of all the ways we fight to be who we are and who we want to be.